Weekly Poll: Will You Subscribe To Adobe Creative Cloud?

With the arrival of CS6, Adobe is trying out a new business model. Instead of you forking over a huge chunk of your hard earned cash once every few years to stay up to date on the latest industry standards in professional creative software, you now have the option to subscribe and pay a monthly fee.

For an introductory price of $49.99 per month, Adobe will let you download and use any CS6 application, store your work in the cloud, and automatically receive any updates that come along.

Today we want to know what you think of this strategy. Will you continue to buy CS versions outright or do you like the idea of subscribing? Once you’ve voted in the poll, let us know whether or not you like this direction for the industry as a whole. Would you subscribe to MS Office or iWork? Why or why not?

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Steve

I considered the Creative Cloud, but outside of the first year’s reduced rate, it would cost me nearly twice as much as upgrading for what I use. Plus, I have yet to see anything on being able to switch from the Creative Cloud back to just purchasing the software package I need and what that might cost. Given the sticker shock I experienced in seeing the upgrade cost from CS5 to CS6* and the curtailing of what versions could be upgraded I don’t have much confidence in Adobe holding the line on their currently published cloud rates.

If this trend continues I may be looking at GIMP, Inkscape, and KompoZer ;-)

*I was able to take advantage of Adobe’s limited time offer to upgrade to CS5.5 and get CS6 free.

dnguyen

F$#@ NO! 49.99/MO IS EXPENSIVE AS S@#$. F#$@ YOU ADOBE!

Laurent Rathle

I’d be interested if they splitted the offer like ony Photoshop, for example.

trexoft.sys

I bet that 90% of those who opted for “No way, I’ll buy my software” actually wanted to choose “I’ll get it but won’t pay for it” in the first place. Wink wink :D

http://iaian7.com iaian7

As someone who indeed selected “no way, I’ll buy my software” – I meant it. I’ve purchased high-end software for many years (Adobe creative suites, tons of plugins, Lightwave, etc.), and will continue to do so for many years to come.

Problem is, I don’t trust Adobe one bit. I warned people when they bought Macromedia – the only competition they ever had – that things were going to go downhill. And they did. CS6 may see some improvement, but since CS1, applicaiton stability and speed have taken a precipitous plunge. Photoshop uses multiple gigabytes of ram without a single file open. Preposterous.

More specifically to the question at hand, cloud services mean that Adobe has complete control over what, when, and where you can use the software. Sure, even a license doesn’t give you much freedom, but at least I should be able to use it a couple years in the future. The last thing I want to do is give Adobe the control to charge me monthly fees, with no way to stop paying without losing it all.

That’s untenable.

http://bit.ly/libbster Joe Franzeen

No way. Adobe is trying something new, something that Apple is trying with mountain lion, and has already tried with lion. Apple only distributed lion digitally, and Adobe is now following their model. I think the best way for software to be distributed is with hardware.

Thomas

You really think that all software should be delivered via USB & Disk still? Boy, you’re going to be SOL in, oh wait never mind, you pretty much already are.

http://butlerm.com Matthew Butler

I will for sure get the subscription but I believe Adobe will eventually screw people over and raise the rate to $75-80 a month in a few years

Sigilist

Even if the price wasn’t ridiculous (and we all know it’s going to go up), the idea that I’d HAVE TO BE online is ludicrous for the work I do and the places I go.

Thomas

You don’t, please read the CC website. You must sign in with your ID every 30 days, but you don’t have to be online. That idea *is* ludicrous, but it isn’t true.

Tom

This subscription idea is terrible. Adobe need to sort out their pricing structure and start charging realistic prices for their software.

It’s a no brainer that as soon as they do that, people will stop pirating. I happily purchsed CS4 with educational discount, as it became a reasonable price. I haven’t updated since as the upgrade price is more than the total suite under an educational discount.

Go figure.

Jeremy

The idea of buying anything from Adobe cracks me up.

http://dougneiner.com Doug Neiner

The way I see it, I am getting the entire Master Collection for $30/mo and eventually $50/mo, always up to date, no upgrade fees. I love this! If it all goes to pieces and I hate it, I still have CS5 :)

Thomas

With my student discount, I can use CC for only $30 a month. Given everything I’ll have access to, yeah, I’ll use it.

Photoshop + inDesign + Illustrator + Fireworks? Give me. But even that, I would have just purchased the Web Design Premium package. What sold me?

The 20GB of storage, device syncing, and, most of all, TypeKit.

I’ll subscribe for a year probably, up until the point where I’ve paid for the Suite I would need, and then decide if I want to buy the suite, or continue with CC (pending my use of TypeKit, and other functions).

For me, I have a limited paycheck from my day job, so this is actually a great option for me.

John

I don’t get it. I don’t just mean Adobe’s blatant attempt at ripping people off. The cloud is intrinsically flawed risky and costly not to mention complicated and has no materail advantage. Why? What for? Money can be the only answer. Why would I want to dick around on the internet when I can have software loaded on a computer that in theory will last as long as the computers life span. I back my data up, I’m not using any bandwidth, I can use it anywhere on my laptop and if others need it I can upload it to my ftp site. This has to be the dumbed idea ever and anyone punting cloud truly needs to have their head examined if they can find it. Our company is already looking for alternatives and not just Adobe. Microsucks is on the radar to. The whole point of a PC was independence and freedom. This will lock everything down to online services. It’s the PC equivalent of asking to be locked in jail.

JonesCat

Adobe, screw you. This is such a BS money grab, it’s sickening. Another thing, piracy is a big problem, sure, but more so with non-professionals. Those people will just start not using Adobe apps. But, the real professionals and legitimate freelancers are the ones who get screwed the most. We are the ones who will have to carry the weight of all this on our backs. Not that I’m playing victim here (*everyone who is anyone who has spent money on their products is victim*), but they are totally crapping on the people who rely on them the most.

I don’t update CS every revision because it’s expensive as all hell. And now? Adobe is dipping their hands in my pocket, holding my income hostage, and essentially applying a TAX to me and my work.

This kind of crap should be forbidden by law. Yes, I can go run off and use (god help me, and us all) GIMP, but they totally have a monopoly in the design world. What jerks. Screw you adobe. Totally disheartening, you money-hungry gluttonous whores.